Bird's Eye View
by Enthusiastic Fish
Summary: Another NFA Hangman prize. This is a oneshot of an interaction between Jenny and Tim. It's not my usual fare, but give it try. Takes place following Gibbs' temporary retirement.


**A/N: **Another reward for NFA Hangman. It started as just another McGee fic and morphed into a Jenny fic... sort of. It takes place while Tony's leading the team. Oneshot.

**Disclaimer:**After all the stories I've posted here, you'd think it would be obvious that I don't own NCIS... but... well, I _don't_.

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**Bird's Eye View**

Jenny sighed as she watched the scene unfolding in the bullpen below her. Perhaps it was just her vantage point above everyone else that gave her the insight, but she could see exactly where this was going to end before it even got started. She was possibly the only one who was unsurprised when Tim suddenly drew back his fist and slammed it into Tony's jaw. Jenny actually smiled when her analysis was proven correct. The tension had been building between Tony and Tim for days, ever since Tony had taken Gibbs' position as team leader. The teasing, the jibes, they all continued as normal, but Tim's attitude toward them had not. His personality profile had pegged him as a classic passive-aggressive. Normally, he would just take whatever was thrown at him, but every so often, he would throw back... _hard_.

Now, the team, including Tim, was all motionless in shock at what had just transpired. Michelle Lee, probie that she was, stood with her mouth wide open. Ziva managed to keep her mouth closed, but her eyes were definitely wide. As for Tony, he was groaning on the floor. Tim, on the other hand, looked horrified at what he had just done. He looked around once and then walked to the elevator and disappeared.

Jenny sighed good-naturedly and walked down to the bullpen. "What happened, Agent Lee?"

"Agent McGee just punched out Agent DiNozzo, ma'am!"

"Yes, Agent Lee, I can see that. Why?"

"I don't know, ma'am."

"Why not?"

"Because I didn't want to eavesdrop." Lee looked at Tony who was still a little dazed and then over to Ziva for help.

"I am not certain what brought it on, Director," she admitted. "Today did not seem different from any other day."

"Well, obviously, it was," Jenny said. She stepped around Tony, certain that he wouldn't suffer any permanent damage, and got on the elevator. She was apparently the only one who had seen this coming... well, that wasn't surprising considering her own very similar experience. When she got out of the building, she, again, was unsurprised to see Tim standing on the sidewalk, looking a little lost.

"Agent McGee!" She watched as he turned around to face her, the lost look being supplanted by one of embarrassment and a tinge of anxiety.

"Yes, Director?"

She looked at him carefully. "Why don't we take a walk? Clear our heads?"

"Yes, Director."

They meandered toward the USS Barry, no particular destination, no conversation. When they reached the docks, Jenny stopped.

"So, what happened, Agent McGee?"

"Nothing, really."

"Really? That's the first time nothing has ended with Tony on the floor, at least that I know of."

Tim flushed. "No, I mean, obviously _something_ happened, but... well... I..."

"Spit it out, Agent McGee."

"I don't _know_ what made me do that. I didn't _plan_ on it happening, Director, I promise. I've been dealing with Tony for a couple of years now. I don't know why it was different today."

"Well, what happened?"

Tim muttered something unintelligible. Jenny could tell that he was incredibly embarrassed to be admitting it to the director of NCIS.

"I didn't quite catch that, Agent McGee."

"He called me 'Probie,'" Tim said, unnaturally loudly this time.

"...which he has done since you and he started working together, I believe."

"Yes."

"So, what put you over the edge, today?"

"I don't know, ma'am. I really don't. All I can tell you is that I was getting so sick of Tony's teasing that I just couldn't... take it."

"I know _exactly_ how you feel, McGee."

Tim looked over at her incredulously, meeting her eyes for the first time. Jenny sighed inside. Would the agents _ever_ stop looking so young?!

"It's true. The agent who trained me treated me, I felt, unfairly. I felt that he continually put me down for no reason and found fault where no fault existed. I tried over and over again to get him to give me some respect, but it never seemed to work. One day, I decided that his next condescending remark would be his last."

"And–?" Tim asked, clearly hoping for something insightful to come of it.

"...and he made a comment which resulted in me punching his lights out."

Tim's eyes were wide. "Really? What happened to you?"

Jenny met Tim's eyes, smiling wickedly. "I became his boss."

"Y-you mean... not Gibbs?"

"I do."

"He didn't stop, did he?"

Jenny laughed outright. "No, of course not, but he did temper his approach and I learned to unbend a little... _only_ a little."

"So, what made you punch him out, Director?"

"He called me 'Jenny' if I remember correctly and asked me to get him something."

"But–?"

"Doesn't seem too serious, does it."

"No."

"It wasn't."

"Then..."

"Think about it, McGee. Things build up because we don't let them go. We've been going through quite the upheaval around here, haven't we."

Tim sighed and looked out at the river. "Yeah. First, there was the case; then, Gibbs in a coma; then, Gibbs with amnesia; then, he left."

"Is Tony a bad team leader?"

"No!" Tim seemed surprised that she would even ask. "He's different from Gibbs, but he does a good job... it's just that..."

"That he's _not_ Gibbs and you haven't figured out how to fit yourself in yet."

"No. Where _do _I fit?" Tim asked. "I feel like I should be somehow different now than I was before, but I'm not. What's my position?"

"I can't tell you that, McGee. You have to figure it out, and you will. Just give it some time."

"Am I ...in trouble... assaulting a superior?" Tim asked. He was serious, she could see. One of the things Jenny usually appreciated about Tim was his by-the-book approach. He had no doubt that he deserved some level of punishment for what he had done and was ready to take it.

"Not on my side, McGee, but if Agent DiNozzo chooses to lodge a complaint, it _will_ go in your file."

"Of course."

"However, knowing Tony... it wouldn't surprise me if he decided that this event was a cementing of his position." Jenny smiled at Tim's dubious look. "You never know." She smiled once more and then left Tim standing at the dock.

When she re-entered the bullpen, all evidence of the altercation was gone, save for the bruise now blossoming on Tony's jaw. No one said anything as she entered and walked up the stairs. She took up her position of observation once more. A few minutes later, Tim stepped off the elevator. No one said anything. Tim stopped at Tony's desk. The two men stared at each other for a few seconds, neither one speaking. Then, Tim nodded and went back to his own desk. The tension that had gripped this team ever since Gibbs' departure dissipated as if it had never been there.

Over the next few weeks, Jenny observed the team as they worked, although not as often as she had before. Not once was the event mentioned and Jenny was unsurprised that Tony neglected to report it. When she heard Tim call Lee _Probie_ for the first time, she knew that he had found his niche. Thus, she gave up her bird's eye view and returned to her own work, confident that NCIS in general and this team in particular could carry on quite efficiently without Gibbs.


End file.
